New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Last week, we got our first proper Pitstop and sadly (?), engaged and entirely forgettable couple Amanda & Kris failed to overcome their own poor performance at the starting line. Alas, unlike like Yorick, we can’t say we knew these two well.

With a full leg of their second chance season behind them, here is my take on the remaining teams' chances of winning.

1. Best friends Zev & Justin (Season 15) – The guys have proven early that they can deliver, race smart and finish first. I think they are the team to beat as of now.

2. (tie) Cowboys Jet & Cord (Season 16) – Back in my good graces are the brothers for the sole reason that they crawled back from a last place finish at the “faux Pitstop” and horrendous racing prior to it to land in third place. And Globetrotters Flight Time & Big Easy (Season 15) – The basketball players have shown they can still compete and compete smart. Their fun yet competitive spirit is what makes them a threat.

3. Sisters Kisha & Jen (Season 14) – The girls have shown they can do well during the race but when it comes to the Pitstop, they fumbled again. It was not due to one of them taking a potty break but rather them getting passed yards from the mat because their packs were too heavy for the footrace. Still, they are my only bet for a female presence in the final three.

4. (tie) Mother/son Margie & Luke (Season 14) and NFL cheerleaders Jaime & Cara (Season 14) – Until they prove me otherwise, I will continue to treat these as one team. Margie & Luke did place higher than the cheerleaders but all it takes is one shared flight and they return to co-dependent bliss.

5. Father/son Mel & Mike (Season 14) – I knew I shouldn’t have believed the previews last week. Mel just needed a little rest and he was back in action. The father and son may prove to be a sleeper team but I still fear that Mel won’t have the stamina to make it to the end.

6. Goth couple Kent & Vyxsin (Season 12) – The Goths haven’t shown us any reason to think they are actually going to go the distance this time around.

7. (tie)Father/daughter Gary & Mallory (Season 17) and Father/Daughter Ron & Christina (Season 12) – The former is one team that I didn’t expect much from and they lived up to those low expectations. The latter is a team that is not replicating their performance from before that landed them in second place at the finish. One of these teams should be gone this week.

All right, picking up where we left off, let’s turn to the immortal words of Men At Work’s "Down Under," “You better run, you better take cover." Focusing on the "run" part, here we go. The teams may have hit the mat in a mining town but all the teams are then taken on an overnight train ride back to Sydney. It’s like they had a rolling rest stop.

Continued:       1       2       3       4       5